Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus
Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus (styled as Sgt. Singer's Spectacular Star Studded Circus Pizza Show) was a chain of family entertainment centers that were best known for their animatronic bands manufactured by Creative Presentations and their massive arcade selections.
History
Nickels and Dimes Incorporated
Nickels and Dimes Incorporated (NDI) is an entertainment company founded by Craig Singer sometime around 1972 in Carrollton, Texas.(1) NDI was best known as the operator of Tilt arcades and Gold Mine arcades throughout the 1970's and 1980's.Sgt. Singer's Spectacular Star Studded Circus Pizza Show
Taking a page from the recent successes of Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre and ShowBiz Pizza Place, Craig Singer established Sgt. Singer's Spectacular Star Studded Circus Pizza Show in Pasadena, Texas by 1982.http://allincolorforaquarter.blogspot.com/2013/06/brides-of-chuck-e-pizza-time-theatres.html Although unconfirmed, newspapers mark early operations of the chain to be around March 1, 1982. Likewise to competitors, the establishment offered pizza, beer, arcade games, and animatronic shows as the main attraction. Animatronics for Sgt. Singer's were manufactured by Creative Presentations, Inc. of Schaumburg, Illinois.Sgt. Striper's and the Closure of Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus
Despite its moderate success as a small regional chain, NDI ultimately shifted its focus back to standard arcades. This meant Sgt. Singer's was now an afterthought to the company, leading to the discontinuation of new locations. Creative Presentations, left with an abundant stock of unused shows, retained all rights to the characters and began selling their stock to other clients. The band, now rebranded as Sgt. Striper's Review, was sold to be versatile in theme. These various themes included:- Circus Band|Sgt. Striper's Circus Band (Distributed by Okamoto Amusements in Japanhttps://web.archive.org/web/20110524063531/http://www.okamotos.co.jp/cotarog/sonota.pdf)
- Sgt. Striper's Beach Bums (Also distributed by Okamoto Amusements in Japan)
- Sgt. Striper's Country Western Show
Characters
Sgt. Singer / Sgt. Striper
(Voiced by Mark Brink) A tiger on acoustic guitar who fearlessly, 'leads his troops,' in a menagerie of musical entertainment. The character's name was initially named after creator, Craig Singer, before being renamed Sgt. Striper for wide distribution.(2)P.T. Bearum / Libby Beara'ce
(Voiced by Lee Pelty) Bearum enjoys 'tinkling on his keys' with his western piano. His original name is a pun on that of American showman and politician, Phineas Taylor Barnum, who was best known for founding the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Similarly to Sgt. Singer and Pounce D'Lion, Bearum was later renamed to Libby Beara'ce (pronounced li·behr·aa·chee), a pun on American pianist and actor, Liberace.Pounce D' Lion / Richard D. Lionhearted
(Originally voiced by Dennis Kelly, and later by Larry Moran) Pounce is a lion who jams on an electric guitar. Despite the origins behind his original name (a pun on Spanish conquistador, Juan Ponce de León) Pounce spoke in a British accent provided by Larry Moran (his second voice). Similarly to Sgt. Singer and P.T. Bearum, Pounce was later renamed to Richard D. Lionhearted, due to Creative Presentations selling Sgt. Striper's shows to other clients.Dolly Porker
(Voiced by Martha Webster) Dolly is a picky piggy who can be very particular with her venue of performance. Her name is a pun on Dolly Parton, though doesn't resemble her namesake besides that. She has been said to have been placed on Stage Right.Pete and Repete
Not to be confused with Creative Engineering's Pete Thornsberry and Repeat Thornsberry of the Hard Luck Bears , Pete (an elephant) and Repete (a mouse) were supposedly a comedic duo on Stage Left. Not much information is known about these two, though it's possible that they were retrofitted versions of Patty the Piano-Playing Pachyderm and Mortimer D. Mouse from CPI's Animal Crackers (which was used in the Decatur, GA store).(1)Stage Composition
Although stage documentation is obscure, it is confirmed that Sgt. Singer's used at least a 3-Stage configuration (similar to other animatronic shows at the time). Center Stage included P T Bearum (Animatronic), Sgt Singer (Animatronic), and Pounce D' Lion (Animatronic)|Pounce D' Lion. Stage Right allegedly contained Dolly Porker (Animatronic)|Dolly Porker (though it is currently unconfirmed), while Stage Left supposedly included Pete and Repete. When Creative Presentations began to sell off the remaining Sgt. Singer's stock, the previous arrangement of characters was reduced to just the aforementioned three characters on Center Stage (Bearum, Singer, and Pounce). One Sgt. Singer figure was paired with Purrscilla Purr and Big Bear from Celebration Station's WOOF Radio for a show installation at Mirapolis (a defunct theme park in France).Installed Locations
Courdimanche
- Mirapolis - 95800 Courdimanche, France (Sgt. Singer Only)
Florida
- Miami, FL (1601 Biscayne Boulevard) as Sgt. Singer's Kiddieland
Georgia
- Decatur, GA (4649 Memorial Dr)
Pennsylvania
- Idlewild Park - Ligonier, PA (2574 Lincoln Hwy) as Sgt. Striper's Three-Piece Touring Band
Texas
- Dallas, TX (11829 Abrams Road)
- Pasadena, TX (Room 201, 171 Pasadena Town Square Mall)
- Houston (Galleria), TX (5015 Westheimer Rd)
Current Whereabouts
Shortly after Creative Presentations began selling off Sgt. Singer's stock, Japanese-based Okamoto Amusements purchased 3 Sgt. Striper shows (and one The Ape-Ology's|Ape-Ology's show) to be leased by Japanese theme parks. Okamoto offered the Circus Band, Beach Bums, and Barnyard Band show variants.(0) At least two of these shows had been rediscovered and were said to have been sold in 2023.(3)Videos
| Link | Description | Filming Date |
|---|---|---|
| Link | The complete, 14 minute performance of Sgt. Striper's Three Piece Touring Band at Idlewild Park. | July 1, 1988 |
| Link | A Sgt. Singer figure performing with Purrscilla Purr and Big Bear at French theme park, Mirapolis. | July 22, 1990 |
Trivia
- The Sgt. Singer's store in Decatur, Georgia actually featured The Animal Crackers (with Sheriff Bob Wire & the B.O.Y.S, Patty Pachyderm & Mortimer D. Mouse, and the Ape-Ology's) instead of the standard show. It's unknown why this was the case, though rumors suggest it was due to the previous figures requiring off-stage maintenance.(4)
- During Concept Unification , Creative Presentations proposed replacing the Rock-afire Explosion with four retrofit options to Showbiz Pizza Time. Sgt. Singer was one of many CPI characters included in these concepts, along with the Ape-Ologys.(5)
References
- https://arcadepreservation.fandom.com/wiki/Nickels_and_Dimes_Incorporated
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_L3v3LnhPk
- https://www.instagram.com/p/Cy6jXxYJm_c/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
- https://arcadepreservation.fandom.com/wiki/Sgt._Singer%27s_Pizza_Circus#Creative_Presentations_Inc
- https://www.showbizpizza.com/info/documents/spt/spt_adp-binder.pdf
Sgt. Singer T-Shirt Offer Advertisement (Decatur, GA)
Sgt. Singer's Kiddieland Advertisement (Miami, FL)
'Sgt. Singer's Circus Pizza Band' Advertisement (Pasadena, TX)
'Sgt. Singer's Pizza Circus is in Town' Advertisement (Decatur, GA)
The Ape-Ology's at the Sgt. Singer's in Decatur, GA
'Three Rings of Fun & Value' Advertisement (Decatur, GA)
Patty Pachyderm and Mortimer D. Mouse at the Sgt. Singer's in Decatur, GA